Frequency of resistance to tetracycline and chloramphenicol amongSalmonella strains isolated in the Netherlands in 1962

Out of 12,472 strains ofSalmonella isolated in the Netherlands in 1962, 1365, or 10.94%, were found to be resistant to tetracycline or chloramphenicol or to both. Compared with the findings of the preceding years (1958/59:2.08%, 1960:1.29%, 1961:3.96%) this is a considerable increase. Of these 1365 strains, 1285, or 94.1%, were resistant to tetracycline and 46, or 3.4%, were resistant to chloramphenicol. The remaining 34 strains, or 2.5%, were resistant to both drugs.Among allSalmonella strains isolated in 1962, 5517 belonged to the speciesS. typhi murium. Of these, 1203 or 21.8%, were resistant to tetracycline. The resistance rates of strains originating from human patients, calves, pigs, other animals and other materials were 24.4%, 37.1%, 15.0%, 8.0% and 5.7% respectively.Factors which may possibly have contributed to the greatly increased frequency of drug resistance inS. typhi murium are: (1) the rapid spread of the use of tetracycline for therapeutic, prophylactic and nutritive purposes, and (2) the possibility of an episome-mediated transfer of drug resistance from relatively harmless intestinal bacteria, such asE. coli, toS. typhi murium.     

Untersuchungen über die Physiologie der Weinhefen. VIII. Mitteilung

Ohne Zusammenfassung I, II, III, IV, V, VI und VII Mitteilung: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 17, 209, 1951; 18, 31, 1952; 18, 293, 1952; 19, 279, 1953; 20, 385, 1954; 21, 337, 1955; 23, 113, 1957.     

New evidence for the structure of myxinol

1. Preliminary spectroscopic examination of a second component of hagfish bile salts suggested that it might be 3β,7α,26(27)-trihydroxy-5α-cholestane. 2. Impure reduction products of the 3β,26(27)-dihydroxycholestane-7,16-dione previously made from myxinol disulphate appeared also to have the 5α-configuration. 3. Infrared, nuclear-magnetic-resonance and mass-spectrographic as well as optical-rotatory-dispersion measurements on 3β,26(27)-dihydroxycholestane-7,16-dione showed that it was a 5α-compound. 4. Myxinol is thus 3β,7α,16α,26(27)-tetrahydroxy-5α-cholestane; new nuclear-magnetic-resonance measurements on myxinol tetra-acetate at higher resolution confirm this structure.     

Spontane Mutationen bei Essigsäurebakterien

Zusammenfassung Mit einer modifizierten Penicillintechnik konnten aus Acetobacter-Populationen, die von einem prototrophen Klon stammten, spontane auxotrophe Mutanten isoliert werden. Bei sechs von acht untersuchten Stämmen wurden auxotrophe Mutanten gefunden. Die Häufigkeit dieser Mutanten betrug 10^-6.Die Auxotrophie, welche je nach Stamm auf Äthanol- oder Glucose-Medium auftrat, äußerte sich als Bedarf für Hefeextrakt. Hefeextrakt konnte durch Alanin, Prolin oder Glutaminsäure nicht ersetzt werden. Die Mutation von prototroph auf Äthanol-Medium zu auxotroph auf Äthanol-Medium hatte keine Änderung der spezifischen Aktivitäten der Schlüsselenzyme des Glyoxylsäurecyclus zur Folge.Es wurden auch spontane Mutanten gefunden, welche die partikelgebundene Äthanoldehydrogenase verloren hatten und dadurch unfähig waren, Äthanol zu oxydieren oder als C-Quelle zu verwerten.Bei den spontanen, auf Äthanol-Medium auxotrophen Mutanten handelt es sich um Mutationen von einer Art des Frateurschen Systems in eine andere. Mutanten, welche die partikelgebundene Äthanoldehydrogenase verloren haben, gehören definitionsgemäß nicht mehr in die Gattung Acetobacter. Die Bedeutung solcher interspezifischer und intergenerischer Mutationen für die Arteinteilung innerhalb der Essigsäurebakterien wird diskutiert.

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Spontaneous mutations in acetic acid bacteria

Summary 8 prototrophic Acetobacter-strains were examined for spontaneous auxotrophic mutants. Using a modification of the Penicillin technique, there were detected auxotrophic mutants in 6 strains. The mutant frequency was 10^-6.Auxotrophy manifested itself as a requirement for yeast extract. Alanine, proline and glutamic acid could not replace yeastextract. In addition to the auxotrophic mutants there were found spontaneous mutants, which had lost the particulate ethanol-dehydrogenase and therefore had become unable to oxidise ethanol.The mutation from prototrophic on minerals-ethanol medium to auxotropic on minerals-ethanol medium represents a mutation from one species of Frateur's system into an other species. Mutants which have lost the particulate ethanol-dehydrogenase belong no more to the genus Acetobacter. The importance of such interspecific and intergeneric mutations for the taxonomy of acetic acid bacteria is discussed.

     

Terminal nerve sprouting at the frog neuromuscular junction induced by prolonged tetrodotoxin blockade of nerve conduction

Brain Cell Biology - The effects of a prolonged blockade of nerve conduction by tetrodotoxin on frog motor innervation were studied in the cutaneous pectoris muscle ofRana esculenta. Prolonged...     

Principles and applications of luminescence spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatographic techniques

An overview is presented of the physicochemical basis of luminescence, and its application to the detection of chemicals (drugs, biomedically important compounds, environmentally active substances) in liquid chromatographic systems.